3 reasons not to play poker

We are tired of the stupid arguments against the game of poker and have compiled a list of reasons that really should be considered by every Amateur who dreams of a professional career player.

1. You can lose everything

According to modern scientific research, about 1% (and not less than 0.7%) of people are potentially incurable ludomans – gamblers who are unable to stop. These people pull the lever of slot machines until their pockets run out of money and sell apartments to buy lottery tickets. When they enter the game, they completely lose control.

All mentally normal people are more or less reckless. We are programmed by nature to fight for life and territory, so when we start to lose, we are fully mobilized to recoup. In addition, losing hurts our self-esteem, belittles the sense of self-importance, and this is an additional motivation at any cost to avoid defeat. Any player – not only in poker, but also in preference, chess, Hearthstone, Counter Strike and so on – can remember days (more often, of course, nights – self-control weakens after a long wakefulness) when he led a desperate struggle with a superior opponent, hopelessly lost, but could not stop. But still in the life of 99% of people such cases are rare, and the memories of them are frightening, not inspiring.

If you are not lucky, and genetics have identified you 1%, it is best you not play at all. Nothing.

2. You can’t learn to win

Poker is a difficult profession that requires a rather complex combination of intellectual and emotional skills. Deep knowledge of the of the game itself, the ability to construct equilibrium strategies and to deviate from them subject to the weaknesses of the opponents, the ability to manage their gaming funds (bankroll), complete control of emotions at the successes and failures, a strong will is not the complete, but it’s a frightening list of job requirements. To become a good hairdresser, you need much less.

Not everyone can master poker in order to start winning steadily. Analysis of large amounts of statistics shows that about 60-65% of all players in poker rooms play in the negative. Among those who play regularly, the percentage of winners is above 50%, but not much.

In the community of successful players there is an opinion that at low limits, that is, in the game at low rates, it is easy and simple to win (“you can even teach a monkey to beat NL25”). Similarly, the candidate chess master does not believe that an adult can not play at least because of the first category, and the seventh-grader looks down on the program of the sixth grade. Gamers with APM under 300 just do not understand people playing with APM 90 – like what is difficult to quickly click on the keys? But man is a rather complex system, and it would be a big mistake to equalize everyone in itself.

3. Limited freedom

As you know, you need to play and work on the game without interruption. This imposes serious restrictions on players. If you are tired of winter Yekaterinburg, you can not break for a month in Italy – to play on the Internet from this country can only its citizens. France, Spain, Australia, USA and a number of other countries are also cut off from the international market. The unfortunate poker player will have to fly to Montenegro or Mexico and rent a house there to ensure a stable and high-quality Internet access…

The daily routine is also no longer in your power. No, you can try to play in the morning or in the afternoon, but… The game may simply not be, or it will be too little. The peak of Internet activity is evening and night. Professional players, especially those who choose tournament poker, often go to bed at 9-10 am. Evening and night tournaments are just much more profitable.

And, of course, the weekend. Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings are the peak of gaming activity. Your school friends are going to a pub or karaoke, and you have to choose – go have fun with them or lose a lot of money, missing the sweet game on Friday and with a heavy head playing on Saturday.

They say that poker is freedom. In fact, this is just another facet of unfreedom.